Sewing machine guide



June 26, 1956 c, H. WALCOFF 2,751,869

SEWING MACHINE GUIDE Filed Dec. 18, 1953 INVENTOR.

CAAKL as H ML car/=- BYM ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 SEWING MACHINE GUIDE Charles H. Walcotf, Trenton, N. L, assignor to Joseph Fishberg, Trenton, N. J.

Application December 18, 1953, Serial No. 399,048

2 Claims. (Cl. 112-'-260) This invention relates to a new and useful fabric guide for sewing machines, and particularly to a fabric guide for monogram and zig-zag type sewing machines wherein the needle reciprocates simultaneously in two different directions; that is, has two degrees of movement.

In embroidery monogram sewing machines, the needle reciprocates simultaneously in two different directions; viz, vertically (up and down) and also side-to-side. The side-to-side motion may be either front-to-back or leftto-right as seen looking at the machine from the position of the operator. Because of the absence of a presser foot which in conventional sewing machines would yieldingly engage with the fabric or work, and the absence of a feed for the work in monogram sewing machines, the work (in this case the cloth or fabric upon which the monogram is to placed) must be fed by the operator by hand in timed relation to the dual reciprocating motions of the needle. The speed of the needle is controlled by a treadle upon which the foot of the operator rests. If the work is fed too slowly by the operator the thread will pile up and overlap on the cloth. the operator too fast, there will be spaces between adjacent lines of thread through which the work or fabric will show. Further, the operator must endeavor to monogram a straight line while feeding the work in timed relation to the movement of the needle. tion is an almost impossible task for even a highly skilled operator of many years training. Some types of monogramming require a varying width in the lettering or design. This varying widtlr is obtained by continually controlling the deviation or extent of the front-to-back or, in some monogram sewing machines, the righf-to-left movement of the vertically reciprocating needle by means of a knee control. Hence, to operate a monogram sewing machine requires a skilled operator of many years experience who must know how to correlate simultane- T ously several operations requiring the use of the hand in feeding the work, the footin operating the treadle to control the speed of the needle, and the knee to control the variation in width of the thread on the finished letter or design. Even a highly skilled operator who is alert and has a keen eye must work rather slowly to assure the feeding of the work on a straight line past the needle. This difficulty is also present when zig-zag sewing machines (a variation of the monogram sewing machine) is used for monogramming purposes. As a result of the foregoing difliculties, monogramming is a tedious and slow job and causes fatigue and eye strain in the operator.

The present invention provides a simple and inexpensive work guide for the fingers 'of' the operator thereby increasing the speed of the monogramming operation while at the same time assuring that the work moves in a straight line past the needle of the monogramming machine. The device of the invention not only enables the operator to move the work past the needle in a straight line faster than heretofore possible but also obviates the necessity of the operator continuously watching the line of stitching. Hence, eye strain, fatigue and nervous ten- If the work is fed by Such correlasion on the part of the operator are reduced to a minimum by the invention. In addition, the device of the invention enables even an unskilled operator to monogram a straight line of stitching more evenly and faster than a highly skilled operator of many years experience workingwithout the invention.

Briefly stated, the device of the invention comprises a thin fiat plate adapted to rest on the bed of the sewing machine in proximity to the reciprocating needle and over which the work or fabric is adapted to move. An essentialfeature of the plate is the use of straight parallel grooves spaced apart a convenient distance and having such depth between them as to enable the fingers of the operator to glide therein with no elfort on the part of the operator as he moves the work toward or away from the needle in straight lines merely by the feel of the grooves and without requiring constant visual attention to assure straight line stitching. The plate is provided with a slot through which the needle passes and which is positioned at right angles to the straight parallel grooves. The platecan be made from extruded aluminum or a resin plastic, and may, by way of example only, be 10-14 inches long and 9-12 inches wide and about inch thick. The thickness of the plate such that the thick shank of the needle does not penetrate the work cloth and make a holein it. If desired the plate may bedispensed with, and the straight parallel grooves: made inthe top surface of the sewing machine bed in proximity to the needle.

The plate of the invention enables it to be applied easily to existing monogramming and zig-zag sewing machines already in the field without requiring the more troublesome alteration of the sewing machine bed. The plate is inexpensive to manufacture, can easily be replaced or removed, and is secured to the bed by' spaced screws, preferably four in number positioned at. the four corners thereof, assuming a rectangular shaped plate. The plate can, of course, be circular in shape, if 50 desired.

A detailed description of theinvention follows, in conjunction with a drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view showing that portion of the monogram sewing machine which contains the needle in association with the plate of the invention placed on top of the bed;

Fig. 2 shows a fragmentary portion of the work held taut by hoops in theprocess of monogramming a design,

Fig. 3 is a cross-section of Fig. 2 along the line 3+3 and shows the plate and bedunderneath the work; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the plate of the invention to show that the depths of the grooves and the spacing of the parallel edges are such as to enable the fingers of the operator to glide easily therethrough in straight lines without watching the plate.

Throughout the figures of the drawing the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a portion of the head 10 and table or bed 12 of a monogram or zigzag type of sewing machine. The needle 14 protrudes from the bottom of the head It) and has two degrees of reciprocal movement, to wit, a vertical movement and simultaneously therewith a side-to-side movement. it should be noted that the sewing machine shown in the drawing lacks both a pr'esser foot for yieldingly engaging the work and a-feed' mechanism for the work. Such monogramming machines are well known and need not be further described herein. Placed upon the bed 12 in proximity to the needle and immediately in front of the operator is the thin plate 16 of the invention. Plate 16 may be made of extruded metal, such as aluminum or from a resin plastic and is formed of a plurality of parallel grooves extending in a straight line and bounded by well defined parallel straight ridges 20. The plate 16 is provided with a slot 22 at right angles to the grooves and ridges and through which the needle passes during its simultaneous two-degree movement of reciprocal travel. The plate 16 is very' thin so that the thick shank of the needle 14 does not penetrate the work and make an unduly large hole therein, and this plate is secured to the bed by a plurality of screws 24.

The work 30 upon which the monogram is to be placed in a suitable design or letter or group of letters is placed above the bed 12 and plate 16 and underneath the needle 14, so that the plate 16 is largely if not completely concealed as the monogramming operation proceeds. To maintain taut that portion of the cloth (work) which is in proximity to the design and needle during the mon ogramming operation the cloth in this area is tightly held between a pair of circular hoops 32, 34, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The size of the hoops may vary depending upon the size of the lettering or design to be monogrammed. For example, if the letters are very small, let us say /2 to 1 inch in size, as will be the case when placed on a mans shirt or handkerchief, the hoops may be 6 to 8" in diameter. If, on the other hand, the letters are relatively large, let us say 3 to 6 inches, as may be the case when placed on the inside lining of a ladys coat or on a bath towel, the hoops may be 10 to 12 inches in diameter.

With the use of the grooved plate of the invention, it is a simple matter to maintain a clear straight line of stitching while monogramming and without watching the work closely, even though the plate 16 is concealed beneath the work. The operator merely'presses down on that portion of the work within the hoop area until his fingers on both sides of the design to be monogrammed fall into one or more of the grooves 18 of the plate 16. He then guides the work toward the reciprocating needle while sliding his fingers through the straight line grooves of the plate which he feels under the work. Because the grooves are perfectly straight, the work and hence the stitching must follow a straight line as the operator pushes the work toward or away from the needle. Of course the operator must observe at all times the outline ofthe design to be followed on the work. In the case of the letter B shown being monogrammed in Fig. 2- the large straight portion of this letter is monogrammed by guiding the work toward or away from the needle while following the straight line grooves on the plate or bed underneath the needle. To stitch the shorter legs of the letter B, the hoop is turned around so that they extend from frontto-back, and the same procedure is followed as in monogramming the larger straight portion of the letter.

Although the plate may have dimensions of a wide tolerance, one plate satisfactorily used in the practice of the invention was about 12 inches long, 10 inches wide and about 5 thick at the base of the grooves. The grooves were about A" in width and the ridges extended above the bottom of the grooves about 5 The width of the grooves and the ridges must be of convenient size to enable the fingers to easily feel the irregularities in the plate through the cloth and glide in a straight line over the plate by following the grooves and ridges.

It will be readily. apparent to those skilled in the art, thatthe ridges and grooves can be turned at right angles to the showing in the drawing and that, if desired, the slot 22 may also be turned and also provided with another slot at right angles thereto to form a cross, foruse with diiferent types of monogramming and zig-zag sewing ma- 4 chines, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The guide of the present invention, although especially useful with sewing machines lacking a presser foot is not so limited in its application and is useful with conventional types of sewing machines where it is required to feed the work on a straight line. Byway of example in the use of a conventional sewing machine using a presser foot the guide of the invention may be positioned between the operator and the needle with the guide flush with the metallic bed of the machine, or with the parallel grooves placed directly into the bed and extending in straight lines from the operator to the machine. In this case, however, it would not be necessary to supply a slot for the guide and into which the needle would pass, because the guide terminates in front of the presser toot.

What is claimed is:

l. A guide for a sewing machine comprising a flat thin plate adapted to be placed on the bed of the machine in the proximity of the needle and between the needle and the operator, said plate having a plurality of straight parallel ridges which form grooves therebetween, said grooves having such width as to enable the fingers of the operator to easily feel and follow them thru the work in guiding the work toward or away from the needle without the need for observing said plate, said grooves extending clear to that edge of the plate which is adapted to be positioned nearest the operator without any increase in level from the grooves to said edge; whereby the fingers of the operator can smoothly enter the grooves,

and means located outside the areaof the grooves and onthe bed of the machine in the proximity of the needleand between the needle and the operator, said plate having a plurality of straight parallel ridges uniformly spaced andextending from an area on the left side of the needle to an area on the right side of the needle, said ridges forming grooves therebetween, said grooves having such width as to enable the fingers of the operator to easily feel and follow them thru the work in guiding the work toward or away from the needle without the need for observing said plate, said grooves extending substantially to opposite edges of the plate, one of said edges being adapted to be nearest to and lying transverse with respect to the operator, said plate having no increase in thickness from said one edge to said grooves, said plate having holes adjacent the margin only for enabling entry of threaded screws for fastening the plate to the .bed of the machine.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Switzerland June 1 6, 

